Metronome
by Georgia Peach
Summary: alternate ending of my last story, Kim Possible Meets X-Men. Naddie discovers she is a mutant and must make the difficult disicion whether to stay at Xavier's institute or return home with Kim and Ron. Kurt OC pairing
1. Surprises

))) hello again, people! If you're reading this, I'm assuming you have read "Kim Possible meets X-Men" and are now checking this out, the alternate ending. Well, if you haven't read my last story, you might want to, or this one won't make that much sense. I know, 30,000 words it a lot if you have a short attention span like me, but according to the reviews I got, it's worth it. :)  
  
Anyways, this is what could of/should of happened in my story "Kim Possible meets X-Men". It starts in chapter 11, after Naddie has a dream about Kurt the morning of her first day in Bayville High.  
  
Quick re-cap of everything from the very beginning!: Naddie moves to Middleton where she meets up with her childhood friend, Ron Stoppable and his friend, Kim Possible. She tags along on one of their missions and they have some fun. (see "Ron and the Girl) Later on, the three of them get sucked into the X-Men world through Ron's television. The X-Men help them and Xavier makes them honorary X-Men. (see chapters 1-10 of "Kim Possible Meets X-Men")  
  
Now that's I'm done archiving everything, on to the story! (((  
  
"Wake up, sleepyhead! You don't want to be late for school, do you?" Kurt was in Naddie's room, trying to prod her awake.  
  
"No, Jake, go away," Naddie said groggily.  
  
"Jake? Hey, Naddie, it's me, Kurt! You're going to be late for your first day of school here!"  
  
"Oh, sorry," Naddie said, finally waking up completely. "I thought you were my brother. Is it Monday already? Sheesh! I just dreamed I was in kindergarten. Except you were there. . . and the kids were really mean to you because you were so different. Then my parents came and took me away and told me I wasn't allowed to play with you anymore." Kurt frowned. "They wouldn't really do that, I don't think. They both have pretty open minds about things that are different, they don't really have prejudices. I wonder what it means."  
  
"That does sound weird, but I wouldn't worry about it," Kurt said. "Breakfast is ready. Don't be late for school, that's my job! I'll see you in a minute. Bye." Kurt ported away.  
  
Naddie got up and found a nice outfit to wear. Her first day at Bayville High! 'This is kind of exciting!' Naddie thought to herself. 'I wonder who I have classes with.'  
  
As Naddie walked downstairs, she thought of everything that had happened so far.  
  
'My first Danger Room session talking to Kurt; shopping with Kitty, Kim, and Jean; and the subsequent first meeting with the Brotherhood!' Naddie thought to herself. 'I never would have guessed so much could happen in just a few days!  
  
Already, Naddie felt at home. She was sure she could find her way around the mansion with her eyes closed and she had gotten used to Kitty's 'like's and 'totally's. She had learned how to telepathically speak with Jean and the professor and already had gotten over the sick feeling in her stomach when she ported with Kurt.  
  
'I just feel so at home here!' she thought.  
  
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"Hey, how did you get down here so fast?" Kurt asked when Naddie had followed the smell of bacon into the kitchen.  
  
"What do you mean? I hurried, but it must have been at least ten minutes," Naddie replied.  
  
"No, I just woke you up about two minutes ago!" Kurt insisted.  
  
"You sure?" Naddie said, picking up a piece of toast.  
  
"He's right, I saw him leave to get you, like, just a minute ago," Kitty said.  
  
"Wow, well I guess I got ready faster then I thought," Naddie said, but she still wondered about it.  
  
The professor interrupted her thoughts when he passed out Kim, Ron, and Naddie's new schedules. Naddie was glad to see she had chorus first period, something she would enjoy very much.  
  
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Kim, Ron, and Naddie's first day at Bayville High was rather eventful. Kim had a run-in with Lance from the Brotherhood, Kitty had accidentally broken a keyboard in computer class, Rogue finally joined the X-Men, and the principle turned out to be Mystique!  
  
'Man, the X-Men really do have busy lives.' Naddie thought to herself as she walked down the hall towards her room to change out of her school clothes. 'I bet they never get bored!'  
  
"Naddie, get in uniform, the Brotherhood are attacking the mansion!" Jean interrupted her thoughts as she ran by.  
  
"Huh?" Naddie thought stupidly. Then she quickly regained her senses and hurried to get into uniform. Within a few minutes, she was outside with the rest of the X-Men, ready to defend their home.  
  
"What do you want, Mystique?" Storm called. "There's nothing here for you."  
  
"Now, if I told you that, I'd have to kill you!" Mystique said slyly. "You know the plan, boys, get them!"  
  
Toad leapt forward and Avalanche made the ground come up in a huge wave headed straight for the X-Men. Something strange happened then. Naddie saw the wave coming straight for her as if it were in slow motion, only Naddie was still moving with normal speed. She thought maybe Lance had just miscalculated his attack, but still, she had never seen an earthquake this slow before. She saw Storm take flight to avoid the wave. Nightcrawler, several feet in front of her, easily flipped over the rising ground and landed gracefully on the other side. Naddie found some sort of new strength in herself and suddenly a sort of instinct took over. She waited until the wave was close enough it almost knocked her over, then she leapt into the air and straight over the wave, much like Nightcrawler had just done. When she landed, she looked around and was surprised to see everyone else had been knocked down by the wave.  
  
'Why couldn't they avoid it?' Naddie though. 'It was coming so slowly.'  
  
Naddie looked over at Spyke, who was angrily throwing spikes in every direction in an attempt to hi Quicksilver. Naddie watched in horror as one of the spike sailed in Kim's direction. The spike seemed to slow down at the last second, giving Kim just enough room to dodge away.  
  
"Hey, watch it!" Kim yelled at Spyke. Naddie looked around until she found Jean, wondering if she had slowed the spike down with her telekinesis, but Jean was busy lifting Mystique in the air. Storm was beside her, assisting in the fight against Mystique, so the spike hadn't been moved by the wind- rider, either. Naddie suddenly sensed someone behind her and tuned just in time to see Toad sailing through the air towards her. Naddie braced herself and held out a fist, which Toad ran right into with a sickening crack. She cringed at the sound.  
  
"Naddie, behind you!" Naddie turned to see Blob, the unstoppable force, coming at her with every bit of momentum imaginable. Nightcrawler ported to right beside her and then ported her to safety.  
  
"Thanks, Nightcrawler," Naddie said quickly, before returning to the fight. A few minutes later, she heard Mystique call for the Brotherhood to retreat. They fell back, obviously outnumbered.  
  
"And stay out!" Spyke called after them, waving his fist. Kitty rolled her eyes.  
  
"They're, like, GONE, Evan," she said.  
  
"Come on, everyone, lets get back inside," Scott said. "We can monitor the lawn with the cameras."  
  
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The next day, Naddie was still a little sore from the battle the night before, but she was proud of herself overall.  
  
She was getting ready for school when she heard the professor's voice in her head.  
  
_Naddie, will you come see me in the library, please_  
  
_Be there in a sec, Professor_ she answered.  
  
When she arrived in the library, the professor had her sit down in a chair.  
  
"What is it, Professor? Is something wrong?" Naddie asked, looking around and noticed this was a private meeting, none of the other X-Men were present.  
  
"Cerebro has detected a new mutant, Naddie," he said calmly. Naddie wracked her brain trying to remember who it might be.  
  
"Do you need my help with him, professor?" she asked, still trying to remember who it may be.  
  
"Actually, it's a her," the professor replied. "Naddie, the new mutant. . . is you." 


	2. Experiments

))) sorry I took so long to upload this new chapter, I've been rather busier than normal with school about to start up and stuff. Hope it's worth the wait! (((  
  
Naddie stared at the professor, unable to comprehend.  
  
"What?" she asked in disbelief. "I'm a mutant? But how?"  
  
"I'm not sure. In your world, there aren't mutants like us. Perhaps your arrival here triggered a dormant x-gene in your DNA structure."  
  
"Will I still be a mutant when I go home?"  
  
"There's no way to tell," he said. She paused, the information sinking in.  
  
"Professor, what are my powers?" she asked.  
  
"Have you noticed anything unusual happen lately?"  
  
"Well, besides the fact that I was sucked into Ron's television set, no, I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary- " she stopped. "Wait. . . during that fight with the Brotherhood. . . I remember now. It was like I was watching everything in slow motion. I thought it was just me panicking and seeing things, but I was moving so fast. . ." The professor nodded, smiling. "So, what, am I like Pietro or something?" The professor chuckled.  
  
"No, not quite. While Pietro is able to think and act at abnormally high speeds, you are able to control time itself, to a certain degree. During the battle, you sped up time around yourself so that you moved faster." Naddie remembered something else then.  
  
"There was a spike that was about to hit Kim and it suddenly slowed down. Did I do that too?"  
  
"You probably did. You could have altered time around the spike so that Kim had time to dodge it."  
  
"Woa," Naddie said. "I don't believe it."  
  
"It will certainly take some getting used to, Naddie. Don't worry, everyone here has gone through this same thing, no need to worry. Logan will begin training specific to your powers tomorrow. Get some rest now, you've had a stressful day." Naddie thanked the professor and left, but rather then taking his advice and going to bed right then, she decided to pay a visit to Ororo. She went upstairs to the wind-rider's attic room and knocked.  
  
"Why hello, Naddie, it's nice to see you," Ororo said, ushering her inside. "Is there anything I can do for you?"  
  
"Actually, I've got sort of a strange request," Naddie said. "Can I please have a seed?"  
  
"A seed?"  
  
"Yes, from one of your plants. It doesn't matter what kind," Naddie said. Ororo looked confused, but nodded and walked over to a basket with various garden tools in it.  
  
"Here are some sunflower seeds I never got a chance to plant this past year. They should still be alright." Ororo handed Naddie a small envelope.  
  
"Thank you," Naddie said.  
  
"Any time, child," Ororo replied, watching Naddie leave. Naddie grabbed a bottle of water and went outside and into the garden. Ororo hadn't said anything about her being a mutant, so she guessed the professor hadn't told everyone yet. That was alright with her, she didn't want to waste time right now explaining.  
  
Naddie continued through the grounds until she got to a tree on a small hill. Here, Naddie sat down on the cool ground. She picked up a stick and began to dig a small hole. When she was done, she took a single seed from the envelope Ororo had given her and dropped it in the hole. She then covered it back up and sprinkled some water on it.  
  
"Ok, let's see if this works," Naddie said to herself. She took a deep breath and relaxed her body, focusing on the small mound of dirt where she had just planted the sunflower seed. At first, nothing happened, and Naddie began to think herself silly, but then slowly, a small green leaf emerged from the ground. She watched as it grew, taller and wider. A stem grew under it, stretching upward. Naddie watched excitedly, trying not to break her focus. A minute later, a fully grown sunflower, at least 2 feet high, was blooming under the tree on the hill where Naddie sat. She stared at it in amazement. She had actually sped up time around the seed so that the flower grew in two minutes what would have normally taken a month.  
  
"I can control time," Naddie said to herself, before passing out from the strain of overusing her powers.  
  
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"I just found her unconscious like this," a voice said. Naddie slowly came back from dreamland. She tried to open her eyes, but the lights suddenly seemed very bright. She groaned.  
  
"You're awake," another voice said. She opened one eye a crack to see the professor leaning over her.  
  
"What happened?" she asked groggily.  
  
"You strained yourself using your powers. Kurt found you outside. You are in the hospital wing now." She squinted and saw a blue blur and then felt Kurt sit down on the bed.  
  
"I'm sorry, I should have listened to you and went straight to my room, professor," Naddie said. "I just had to see for myself if it was true."  
  
"What is she talking about?" Kurt asked.  
  
"I will explain later, Kurt," Xavier said. "Right now, Naddie needs some REAL rest." Kurt bid her goodnight and left the room.  
  
"You haven't told anyone yet?" Naddie asked the professor.  
  
"I have told Logan and now Ororo, but none of the students," he said quietly. "I thought you might want to do that yourself." She nodded. "Naddie, what happened exactly? I got an overwhelming feeling of awe from you right before you blacked out. I couldn't decipher it."  
  
"Miss Monroe gave me some sunflower seeds, and I planted one and made it grow. I mean, I made it grow all the way, it's a whole flower now."  
  
"No wonder you strained yourself," the professor scolded. "You should know better than to start so big." He sighed. "We can help you learn to control your powers, but until you know what you're doing, you have to be very careful," he said. Naddie nodded. "There is something else. Naddie, I would like to extend a formal invitation for you to stay at my institute."  
  
"Like. . . forever?" Naddie asked, confused. "You mean I just wouldn't go home?"  
  
"That is what I am proposing," Xavier said calmly. "I know this is very difficult for you. Not only have you just found out you're different, but you are away from home, and must now make a very difficult decision. I'm not asking you to decide right away, of course. This will certainly take time." Naddie nodded slowly. "For now, you had best get some sleep. We will explain to everyone what is going on tomorrow morning."  
  
The professor left and Naddie drifted off to sleep, hundreds of different thoughts racing through her mind.  
  
))) and the story continues! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. Hope you're enjoying it. More soon! ((( 


	3. When they find out

))) hi again everyone. Sorry this next chapter took so long! School started and I ***finally*** got my learners permit, so my schedule has been at least semi-busy the last few days. I'm working on it and I definitely haven't forgotten. Hope you enjoy! (((  
  
"Naddie?" Ron's voice called, waking her. She looked around and realized she was still in the hospital wing. She dragged herself into a sitting position in bed. Ron came and sat down beside her.  
  
"Morning, sunshine!" he said. "The professor said I could come and get you, but he wouldn't tell me why you're in the hospital wing! What happened?" She just groaned in reply.  
  
"Professor said to wait until morning. That's what I did. I'd prefer to just wait and tell everyone at once," Naddie said groggily. Ron still looked concerned.  
  
"Now you have me really curious. Hurry down you can tell us your big surprise. And don't forget, we have a Danger Room session," he said. She nodded and got up to get dressed as Ron left the room. She put on her uniform and pulled out a t-shirt and jeans for school, then made her way downstairs and towards the Danger Room, where everyone was waiting for her. Apparently, everyone had heard where she had been last night and everyone wanted to know what was going on. Kitty and Kurt pounced on her at once.  
  
"Naddie, are you alright?" Kitty asked, grabbing her arm. "I heard you were, like, in the hospital wing last night."  
  
"Yea, I found you outside. What happened?" Kurt asked.  
  
"You'll find out soon enough, guys," Naddie said, and walked over to where the professor and Logan were.  
  
"Naddie," the professor greeted. "How are you this morning?"  
  
"I'm alright. It really was dumb of me to go and do a thing like that, wasn't it?"  
  
"Don't even get me started, kid!" Logan said.  
  
"I believe we have left the others in suspense long enough, shall I make the announcement?" Xavier asked. Naddie nodded. The professor tried several times to get the students' attention, but they were still talking about what they thought had happened to Naddie. Finally, Logan shouted for them to be quiet and everyone snapped to attention.  
  
"Thank you, Logan," the professor said, nodding up at him. "I know you all are wondering about Naddie's stay in the hospital wing last night. Let me start at the beginning."  
  
"A very good place to start," Kurt sang under his breath. Scott elbowed him in the ribs.  
  
"I am still not quite sure how it happened or what we are going to do about it, but the other day, Cerebro detected a new mutant. That mutant happened to be Naddie.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"How is that possible?" Scott asked.  
  
"Oh my gosh, this is, like cool and not cool at the same time!" Kitty said. Ron looked over at Naddie. She couldn't read the expression on his face, but she thought it looked almost like disappointment or sadness.  
  
"Professor, I don't understand," Jean said above the others.  
  
"Neither do I, Jean. Naddie is from another dimension, where mutants such as us do not exist. Why she is a mutant in this dimension I do not know," the professor explained.  
  
"What's going to happen to her?" Kim asked, concerned.  
  
"As far as I can tell, she's just like any other mutant here. But I do not know what will happen if she returns to her own dimension."  
  
"If," Ron said. It wasn't a question. He knew as soon as the professor said Naddie was a mutant that she would be staying. Would he and Kim really be going home by themselves?  
  
"Ron," Naddie began, but he turned and started to walk away. Naddie started to go after him, but Logan put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.  
  
"Give him some time to think, Naddie," he said. "He's upset."  
  
"RON's upset?" Kim asked, suddenly defensive. "What about Naddie? She's the one who all of a sudden found out she's a mutant!"  
  
"Kim, it's alright," Naddie said, trying to calm her. He just needs some time to think about things. Will you keep an eye on him for me, please?" Kim sighed and nodded. "Thanks. I'll see you at school." Kim turned and walked away in the direction Ron had gone.  
  
"I'm ready," Naddie said, turning to Logan.  
  
"What?" he asked, confused.  
  
"I'm ready to train," Naddie said confidently.  
  
"Are you sure? I mean, with all this."  
  
"I'm fine, really," Naddie insisted. Without even meaning to, she had been slowing down time, bit by bit, just enough to add a half hour or so to her morning. It wasn't much, but it had given her enough time to sort things out in her head. Now she was done thinking and was ready for action.  
  
"If you insist," Logan said, and ushered her into the Danger Room, leaving the rest of the X-Men still thinking about what they had just learned.  
  
"Ok, we're going to start slow," Logan warned.  
  
"How slow?" Naddie asked, slightly disappointed she might not get the workout she had been planning for.  
  
"REAL slow," Logan said. He walked over to the side of the room and picked up a bucket full of tennis balls. Naddie looked at him and raised an eyebrow questioningly.  
  
"I'm going to throw these up in the air and I want you to focus on them and try to slow how fast they fall, got it?" Wolverine asked. Naddie nodded to show she understood. Wolverine then picked up a tennis ball and threw it high into the air. Naddie concentrated on it, but was surprised how high it went, and her concentration was broken. She shook her head as if to clear it.  
  
"Sorry," she said. "Lemme try again." So Wolverine threw another tennis ball in the air. This time, Naddie followed it with her eyes and concentrated. The ball reached its apex and began to fall back down to earth, but Naddie was slowing it down, gradually but surely. By the time it was near the ground, it was moving so slowly it seemed to have stopped, and Naddie set it down neatly on the ground with her mind. She smiled to herself and turned to Wolverine for his approval, but as soon as she broke her focus, the ball shot back up into the air. Naddie yelped in surprise.  
  
"Tennis balls BOUNCE!" Logan sighed. "You control time, you're not telekinetic! That tennis ball was going to bounce, even if it was in slow motion."  
  
"Hehe, sorry," Naddie said sheepishly. Wolverine sighed.  
  
"You're going to be a lot of work, kid!" he said. "So why don't we just finish the session with some basic combat training?"  
  
"Sounds good to me!" Naddie said enthusiastically. So for the next half hour or so, Wolverine trained Naddie in basic fighting techniques, showing her how to kick and punch correctly. She came out of the training session tired but relieved. The last day had been really stressful, and combat training was perfect for letting it all out. Naddie thanked Logan and hurried up to her room to get ready for school. She met Kurt on the way there.  
  
"Uh, hi, Naddie," he said awkwardly.  
  
"Hey, Kurt," she replied.  
  
"The professor told us about how your powers work, well, everyone but Kim and Ron. He thought maybe you should tell them yourself," Kurt said. Naddie smiled at the professor's consideration. "So, controlling time, huh? That's pretty neat."  
  
"Not as neat as yours!" Naddie replied.  
  
"Oh, I dunno," he said.  
  
"What do you mean? It's gotta be awesome to be able to go wherever you want."  
  
"It's not so bad," Kurt said, waving it away as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, but he couldn't hide his smile.  
  
"Kurt!" Naddie said laughing.  
  
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On the way to school, Ron avoided Naddie and rushed off to his first class before she could say anything to him. She was disappointed and slightly hurt that he would ignore her like that. She didn't have any classes with him before lunch, so she didn't see him all day. She finally found him at lunch sitting by himself at a picnic table in the corner of the courtyard. Naddie quietly sat down beside him and laid her head lightly on his shoulder. Ron didn't say anything for a moment, he just continued to eat.  
  
"You mad at me?" Naddie asked quietly.  
  
"Why would I be mad at you? You haven't done anything."  
  
"Well, you wouldn't talk to me this morning."  
  
"I know, I'm sorry. I just needed some time to think," Ron said. He sighed. "Naddie, the moment Professor Xavier said you were a mutant, I knew that meant you were going to stay here. I knew he must have invited you to stay and you will."  
  
"I haven't decided anything yet, Ron!" Naddie said.  
  
"Naddie, you were my best friend when we were little kids, you're like my sister! I thought I had lost you when I moved away. Then by some miracle, you moved to Middleton and we found each other again. Is all that just so we can be torn apart again?" he paused. "I'm sorry, I'm being selfish. Whatever you decide, I'll be happy for you."  
  
"Thank you, Ron." Naddie said. He smiled and his face lightened a little.  
  
"So, I never got to ask you this morning, what are your powers, anyway?"  
  
))) ok, I didn't do review replies in the second chappie, so here ya go:  
  
Sarah Crysala is of course my first reviewer. I finally updated, see? Lol  
  
Roguehobbit, you guessed Naddie's power right! Yes, I promise I'm thinking of Rogue's Necklace, I just need to write it down now!  
  
MoonJewel, thanks for the compliments! Hope you like where I'm going with this.  
  
Crystalgreen, yes, Naddie is a mutant and I am updating as fast as my writers block will allow! Lol  
  
LewsTherinInsanity, will she stay? Wait and see! And yes, time control is a very awesome power!  
  
Kala10, more Naddie/Kurt, you say? I can do that!  
  
Terminatrix T-X, glad you like! More soon!  
  
Nova, thanks for the compliments, hope you like!  
  
Everyone, I'm glad I have so many Kurt/Naddie fans here, because that's what I've been going for from the beginning. I'll try to update faster. I know, I say that every time. But I'll at least try!  
  
Reviews for the review moocher, please! ((( 


	4. Codename for Naddie

Ron and Naddie talked the entire lunch period, both of them ignoring their food (which was very unusual for Ron to do). Naddie explained her powers to Ron as best she could considering she still didn't completely understand how they work. Ron listened with great interest, interrupting only occasionally with a question or one of his characteristic witty comments. When the bell rang, they reluctantly parted and went to their separate classes.  
  
Naddie's last class was chorus, something she always looked forward to. She thought the class sang fairly well overall, but they certainly weren't the best. One particular song they were practicing today had an extremely difficult rhythm, and the class was having trouble with it. Naddie had gotten it after just a few tries, but almost everyone else was still stumbling. She sighed in frustration, wondering if they would have to cut the song if they couldn't get it right before the concert. About halfway through the period, their teacher received a call and had to leave for a minute.  
  
"Alright, I want you to keep practicing while I'm gone. Is there anyone here who can keep a decent beat?" he asked, looking around. Naddie raised her hand tentatively, but quickly tried to put it down when she realized she was the only one raising her hand. Too late, the teacher had already spotted her and called her down to the front of the room.  
  
"Naddie!" he said. "If you don't mind, just try and help these guys stay on beat, ok? Just run through the song until I get back. I'll only be a moment." He patted her on the back and rushed out of the room, leaving Naddie standing at the front of the class, wondering how she got there.  
  
"Ok, uh, let's see," Naddie began, her voice quavering slightly at suddenly being put in the position of substitute teacher. "Let's start at measure 31, that's where we have trouble." She clapped her hands to count off the beat and sang with the rest of the class. As usual, they all stumbled over the rhythm. Naddie sighed, suddenly feeling very sympathetic towards teachers.  
  
"Come on, try again. This time, I'll keep the beat. If you get lost, just listen to me," she said, her shyness momentarily forgotten. They began to sing. Naddie clapped her hands in rhythm. A few students still sang off the beat, but when they got to the most difficult part, everyone was singing together. Naddie stared around the room, so amazed at the change she had to remind herself to keep clapping her hands. The teacher walked back into the room then, stopping when he realized what was happening. He, too stared in wonder at his class, suddenly transformed from a room full of students into a true choir. When they finished the song, he turned to Naddie.  
  
"What was that? How did you do that?" he asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"I really don't know!" Naddie said, but as soon as she said it, she realized it must have been her powers at work. She walked back to her seat with a huge grin on her face and feeling very proud of herself. She stood straighter and sang louder after that, knowing they were going to sound great at the concert in a few weeks.  
  
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The next afternoon, everyone hurried to finish their homework before Logan's training session. There was a rumor going around the mansion that this session was going to be especially harsh and they wouldn't feel like doing much of anything afterwards. After some prodding from the other X- Men, Naddie agreed to make sure they had enough time to finish, though she knew she would be scolded if Logan found out. She ended up overshooting it and giving them far too much time, so that everyone finished their homework and ended up bored.  
  
"Aw man," Evan whined as he watched a fly buzzing lazily around his head. "I'm sooo bored! Come on, Naddie, can't you just, you know, give time a little nudge so we can get that training session over with?" Naddie was about to tell Evan "no," but Jean did it for her.  
  
"Evan, no. We've already messed things up as it is. If we try it again, who knows what will happen," she said. Naddie felt guilty at this. Jean had purposefully said "we," but Naddie knew Jean had been talking about her. Had she really messed things up that bad? Her feeling must have shown on her face, because Kurt noticed and leaned over to talk to her.  
  
"Don't worry," he said. "It's totally natural to want to experiment with your powers, but Jean's right, you need more training before you can use your powers so casually."  
  
"Woa, that sounds strange coming from you," Naddie teased.  
  
"I know, I know," Kurt said laughing. "I think I've been hanging around Scott too long, he's starting to rub off on me!" They both laughed and continued to talk together, trying to pass the time that Naddie had stretched for them.  
  
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"Ok, people, let's get started," Wolverine said, coming into the kitchen where everyone still sat. It surprised him that they were already in uniform and ready to go. Scott led the way to the Danger Room, where the X- Men stood anxiously waiting for whatever Wolverine had planned for them.  
  
A simulation started a moment later. It seemed simple enough at first-- snake-like mechanical arms coming from the walls trying to grab them and a few spider robots with guns. The robots were easy enough- they didn't have very good aim and one good hit usually brought one down. Kitty phased through several at once, shorting them out with ease. She complained loudly that this was too easy and began using some of them like soccer balls, just for fun. Meanwhile, Evan was having a blast pinning the robots to the wall with spikes and then watching them squirm. Jean held off about a dozen mechanical spiders with her telekinesis while dodging the metal arms still coming from the walls, and Scott was offing his robots the old-fashioned way-- blast them to bits.  
  
When the team finished off at least fifty or so of the spider robots and gotten rid of the mechanical arms, they looked around the room expectantly. Before they had time to wonder, doors opened on all sides of the room and more spider machines came out. These were almost three times as big as the last ones, and they obviously had better aim. Ron was caught off-guard and almost got trampled by one, but he swung his leg around and knocked the spider onto its back. It lay on the ground kicking and squirming. Ron couldn't help but laugh at this.  
  
Kim was having a blast. She considered the Danger Room to be "fun," which made everyone else, even Logan, wonder about her sanity. Now she was in her element- bashing bad guys, with style! Kim was being pursued by one of the machines, so she headed straight for another, jumping at the last second so that the two collided with each other.  
  
"Hey, watch out!" Naddie laughed, rolling away from the explosion caused by the robots Kim had just gotten finished with. She leapt back onto her feet just in time to come face-to-face with one of the spiders. She had to use her powers to avoid the thing's attack and still have time to hit it.  
  
This batch of spiders was more difficult to defeat than the last, but they finally did, just in time to have EVEN MORE come at them. This time, the smaller and the larger spiders came at once, and there were at least a hundred of them.  
  
"Aww man! What's with this?" Rogue complained when she saw the new army of spiders coming towards them.  
  
"I don't know, but you better watch out behind you!" Kurt warned. Rogue turned just in time to dodge one of the larger spider's attacks, then she kicked it square in the side, disabling it.  
  
"Alone, these things are nothing, but there's so many of them!" Jean cried to Scott over the noise of the battle.  
  
"They're trying to wear us down! I think this is Wolverine's new endurance simulation we've been hearing about!" Scott replied. Cyclops was right, and Wolverine's simulation was working just as it was supposed to. Everyone was starting to get tired. Naddie was the only one who knew how long they had been in there fighting, and she didn't dare tell anyone else, fearing it might discourage them.  
  
The number of spider-robots was steadily decreasing, along with the team's energy and patience. Finally, there were only about a dozen machines left, most of them the larger kind. Cyclops fired a blast at one. Usually, this would have destroyed it in one hit, but he was now so weak he had to have help. Jean flung the spider into the wall with her telekinesis. Luckily, this defeated the already-weakened spider. Spyke picked off the two remaining small spiders, while Kurt worked on another large one. Another came at Kitty, who was still sitting on the floor where she had been thrown a minute before, too exhausted to get up. She simply phased and the spider passed right through her, shorting itself out. At last, all the mechanical spiders lay defeated on the ground, bits of metal were everywhere. The X- Men tried to stay alert, wearily wondering if there was still more, but Wolverine's voice came over the intercom.  
  
"Alright everyone, that was great. Come out here and let me talk to ya." They dragged themselves out into the hall, where Logan met them.  
  
"What did ya think of that?" He asked, grinning.  
  
"It was cruel and unusual punishment if you ask me!" Rogue said. Logan just laughed.  
  
"Don't be silly, it's good fer ya! That was only the demo version, you know. The real endurance sim is this weekend."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Just kidding," Logan chuckled.  
  
------------------------------------------  
  
Later that evening, everyone was sitting around after dinner talking. Xavier called Naddie's attention.  
  
"You have been considering whether or not you want to stay here, correct?" he asked her gently. She nodded. "It's alright, you still don't have to decide quite yet, I was just wondering, perhaps you would like to choose your codename now?" Naddie was startled by this. She hadn't even thought about a codename. The professor read her mind. "I know this is probably the last thing you would think about at a time like this, I just thought it might make you feel more like part of the team if you had a codename."  
  
"Yes, you're right, I think it would," Naddie said smiling. She thought for a moment, then looked at the professor. She noticed everyone in the room was staring at her, anxiously waiting her decision. Apparently, they had all heard the conversation. Naddie paused.  
  
"Call me. Metronome."  
  
))) big smiley :) I knew Naddie's codename from the moment I decided she was going to be a mutant in this alternate ending, and I have been waiting (impatiently) to introduce it. So here it is at last! World, meet Metronome! Lol, sorry, I'm easily amused.  
  
Crystalgreen and Nova, so you like the line "tennis balls bounce"? lol. So do I! just a little bit of funny cuteness. :)  
  
Sarah Crysala, I didn't mean for Ron's reaction to Naddie being a mutant to be mean or anything. He was sad because when he found out she was a mutant, he knew that meant she would probably stay in this dimension, and he might never see her again. He wasn't mad at Naddie, just the situation. But everything's all peachy now, everyone's happy again. :)  
  
Everyone else, thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it! Please review on you way out so I can feed my little review monsters. ((( 


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